Former CMAST Undergraduate Summer Scholar Accepted into NASA Program

April 10, 2014 | CMAST

Ryan Dowdy explains the science of food to Brad Sneeden Marine Science Academy middle school students during a visit to CMAST in summer 2013. (Photo by Jill Miller)

It’s not every day an English-major-turned-food-scientist gets a chance to work with experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), but that’s the future for Ryan Dowdy, a 2013 CMAST undergraduate summer scholar. Ryan, who worked in the NC State Seafood Laboratory, has been accepted in the NASA National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s 2014 Summer Apprenticeship Program. This 11-week program will provide him the opportunity to join ongoing research projects and gain hands-on experience in space biomedical research. Ryan’s career plan is to study emerging technologies in the field of food science that will provide safe, nutritious, flavorful and affordable food worldwide.

Ryan’s CMAST undergraduate research was on use of ozonated microbubble technology in processing fresh catfish filets. He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2010 with at B.A. in English, Music and Creative Writing. He will graduate this May from NC State University with a B.S. in Food Science from the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition. His plans include graduate school this fall at the University of California Davis, Ohio State University, Cornell University or NC State University. (Story by Jill Miller)